Mihăiță Bamburic

We have come to expect new iPhones to be introduced in September, and today Apple does not disappoint as it takes the wraps off the new iPhone 6s and its bigger brother, iPhone 6s Plus. Typical of "s" models, both smartphones retain the design first seen in the previous generation while improving upon their predecessors in a couple of key areas.

With the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple has focused its attention on build quality, cameras, display, and performance. Both flagships, of course, ship with a new version of iOS, which will be generally available later this month, on September 16.

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The amount of RAM that manufacturers pack into our mobile devices will only increase as time goes by. It seems like only yesterday that 2 GB was reserved for premium handsets, but now you can find much cheaper mid-rangers featuring that much memory.

However, the latest crop of Android flagship phablets now ship with 4 GB of RAM. Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge Plus are prime examples, and so is the more expensive OnePlus 2 model. And you can expect next year's batch of standard-sized flagships to follow suit, if not exceed them. But, pretty soon, that too will no longer be enough. Thanks to Samsung, in the near future our high-end mobile devices will have 6 GB of RAM.

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As someone who lives and breathes technology, I am interested in knowing how people use smart devices. What are their favorite apps? How often do they use standout features, like a heart rate monitor? Is the phone functionality still relevant? So, given that Apple Watch is a popular topic in the media nowadays, I am intrigued by how early adopters are using it.

Wristly, the self-titled "largest independent Apple Watch research platform", has polled 2,000 Apple Watch users to find out how they are embracing the device, focusing on the main advertised features. The findings are interesting, but hardly surprising.

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If you are not happy with how your desktop PC or laptop performs, chances are it has a plain-old HDD inside. It is likely large enough to store all your files, but the old technology it is based on makes it extremely slow by modern standards -- apps and programs take a long time to load and transfer speeds are low. Basically, it is the reason why your device does not feel as fast as a new, high-end PC. Fortunately, you can give it a new lease on life.

The first upgrade that you should consider is an SSD. It is a huge improvement over virtually any HDD, as it will greatly improve load times and transfer speeds, making your device feel much more responsive, and reduce noise and power consumption. To show just big a difference it can make, I have tested an Emtec SSD Power Plus drive, in 120 GB trim, with an old HP Compaq 610 laptop.

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With the latest beta build of iOS 9 being released a month ago, it would seem that the new version of the mobile operating system is nearly ready for prime time. In fact, many of us in the Apple Seed program were lead to believe that iOS 9 is actually available.

A message popped up on devices running the latest iOS 9 beta, advising users to update their handsets. I saw it last night, and went straight to the settings menu to check for updates, only to find out that my iPhone 6 Plus is up to date.

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Sony has captured the attention of smartphone fans worldwide with its new Xperia Z5 Premium flagship, the first smartphone with a 4K display. Since the company is not doing exactly well in terms of sales, offering this very intriguing device at a price that undercuts its main rivals looks like a great opportunity to attract more new customers and gain some market share. It would be the logical thing to do.

Sony, however, went with a different strategy, which is to sell Xperia Z5 Premium and its less-premium sibling, Xperia Z5, at some pretty insane prices. The only device that is more reasonably priced is Xperia Z5 Compact, but even so it still seems to cost too much. And it is likely not to be as relevant to consumers given the smaller screen it packs -- a larger screen is an important feature to those who shop in the high-end segment, after all.

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ASUS is following in Intel's footsteps by unveiling a miniature Windows 10 PC, that is not much larger than a USB flash drive. Unveiled at IFA 2015, VivoStick is designed to be connected to an HDMI-enabled monitor, quickly turning it into a fully-fledged PC.

VivoStick is not all that different to Compute Stick in this regard, but the former is a better option in terms of hardware specifications and price, being advertised to cost just $129 when it goes on sale.

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Motorola's Moto 360 remains one of the most interesting Android Wear devices, despite being introduced a year ago. Its elegant design has been unmatched so far by most competitors and the user experience continues to be solid. However, when compared to some newer rivals, like Apple Watch, the device is showing its age, being designed with a different market in mind. A successor is much-awaited.

Today, Motorola takes the wraps off its new Moto 360, revealing a smartwatch that will appeal to a wider range of consumers, including iPhone users. The new device features a similar design to its predecessor, but improves upon the original formula by adding more powerful internals, more customization options, and a wider range of models, similar to what Apple has done with its offering.

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Even when Apple is doing great, some people believe the company is in trouble. Just a few days ago, my colleague Joe Wilcox wrote Collapse of the iPhone empire, in which he explains how the brand that has made Apple so successful could just as easily fall from grace with consumers. Right now, however, this could not be further from the truth.

More than a quarter of smartphone buyers across Europe have dumped Android smartphones for iPhones in the three months ending July 2015, leading to a boost in market share to 17 percent, up from 14.5 percent over the same period a year prior. And Apple has not even launched its new iPhones yet, which could spell even more trouble for premium Android vendors.

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Receiving a new smartphone with malware pre-installed is unlikely, but this is exactly what has happened with handsets from well-known brands sold by some third-party sellers in Asia and Europe. Consumers expect them to run factory software, so it is unlikely that they will check to see whether it has been modified prior to using their account credentials and storing sensitive information, making these kind of infections extremely dangerous.

Security firm G Data has discovered malware on more than 20 smartphone models which were advertised as new. And we are not talking about no-name brands. Among other companies, Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi, top-tier vendors, have had their devices infected prior to the sale.

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With just 11.3 percent market share, Android Wear is not exactly a strong competitor for Apple Watch, which dominates the smartwatch space with 75.5 percent of all shipments. One of the reasons why Android Wear adoption is not as strong has been the lack of support for iPhones. This, however, should not be a problem any more.

Google today announces that Android Wear devices are now finally, and officially, compatible with iPhones, releasing the much-awaited iOS companion app on Apple's App Store. Here is what you need to know about it.

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T-Mobile just announced that a small number of its customers has been abusing its unlimited data plan, circumventing limitations imposed on tethering to steal data. The "violators", as they are referred to by T-Mobile, have allegedly used various methods to use as much as 2 TB of 4G LTE data in a month, without paying for the extra traffic.

Customers who opt for the unlimited data plan have the option to use the Smartphone Mobile HotSpot feature, which includes 7 GB of 4G LTE data that they can use for tethering, free of charge. Those who exceed this limit have to pay to continue to take advantage of tethering at 4G LTE speeds for the excess data, otherwise transfers "slow down".

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Google will officially introduce Android 6.0 Marshmallow in a few months, if history is of any indication. And, like with every release of a new version of the operating system, one of the common questions that users will ask is whether an upgrade will be offered for their devices.

It is not uncommon for Android manufacturers to reveal such information following the new operating system's introduction, but, this time around, Samsung has decided to announce which Galaxy devices are set to receive an upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow first. Is yours on the list?

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There is a large selection of smartphone apps that can be useful to car drivers. Chances are, if you are reading this article, you are familiar with only a few of them -- Google Maps and Waze are the most-likely suspects -- and wish to try out new ones.

The app store on your smartphone gives you a sea of options, but finding interesting things to try can prove to be a daunting challenge, especially if you are not particularly patient or if time is short. Luckily, we have an infographic detailing the 10 apps to try first.

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The tablet market is expected to witness yet another decline in shipments, with IDC estimating an eight percent drop in 2015 compared to last year. However, by the end of 2019, the market is said to recover, thanks in most part to a boost from Windows tablets which will help increase shipments by nearly 13 percent over this year's estimate.

Windows tablets do not currently contribute by a significant amount to overall shipments, as they are estimated to have a market share of just 8.4 percent in 2015 from 17.7 million units. That being said, they are the only slates that will display dramatic growth, expected at 59.5 percent by the end of the year compared to 2014. By the end of 2019, their market share is expected to reach 17.5 percent, thanks to shipments of 41.7 million units.

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